Writing: Sharing is caring.

I’ve been a member of Medium now for almost four years and this is the first post I’ve ever written. Awful, I know. I should be ashamed to call myself a writer. But I’ve decided to turn over a new leaf starting January 1st 2018, and have given myself the challenge to write every day. Sounds simple, I know. So why haven’t I been able to stick to a schedule?

Previous to 2017 I signed up for more inspirational email campaigns, writing prompts, and educational material than I can list here. Some better than others (Medium, Reedsy, The Write Practice). All in an attempt to force myself to do something that I crave to do everyday with little, to no motivation: Write fiction. Living and working full time in NYC is extremely demanding on ones personal time, general life balance, and mental energy. After sitting at an office desk staring at a computer screen for ten hours straight with no break, to then come home and essentially do the same thing all over again just feels, well, tedious to say the least. So what options do I really have? I’ve been doing some brainstorming over the holiday period and have come up with some ideas:

1. Hold Yourself Accountable. Create a clear calendar month by month and write a weekly word goal. This will help when achieving small steps set and trying to accomplish targets early on, and throughout writing your novel. Even if you find yourself lagging a little in the beginning of the month, set aside time in the coming weeks to catch up and fill in the blanks. What’s the best way to hold yourself accountable? Share your work.
2. Don’t Punish Yourself. Writing takes a lot of mental energy, and if you find yourself not meeting set goals, take a step back and make a list of all the things you DID accomplish during the month/week/day. Maybe you’re not just a writer, but a creative type in general. What did you achieve in other projects that are beneficial to you? These should be noted, no matter the size.
3. Share Your Work. Now I’m the worst person to give this type of advice however it’s one of my new year’s resolutions for 2018 (and I never usually make promises to myself). And like the title of this post states, sharing is caring. It’s important to share your writing with others to at least get a fresh and constructive point of view on your written word. Now I’m not saying to share it with everyone. Do your research on specific websites for creative types, enter legitimate creative writing competitions and/or reach out to professionals in the field. Feedback is the first step to improvement (in my case) and something that many people underestimate for success. By sharing your work, you’re caring about improving all aspects of it.
4. Read Everything. Stephen King said it best in his book “On Writing” when advising how to improve ones writing skills, “If you don’t have the time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.” This is something I actually don’t have a problem with and in fact, will read most novels, even if they aren’t within the same genre as the one I’m writing. It helps to read and internally hear another author’s voice sometimes before finding your own.

Having said all of that, I will be using this page as a platform for my short fiction (an on-going hobby that helps me generate ideas for bigger projects). I am aiming to post one short story per week here for all to read. I welcome feedback and questions regarding anything creative.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post! Happy reading (and writing).